MA 2026 Ballot Questions Explained

Massachusetts voters will decide nine binding statewide ballot questions on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026, covering public records, primaries, voter registration, state revenue, conservation funding, housing lots, marijuana and firearms. This guide explains, in the state’s own wording, what a yes vote and a no vote would do on each Massachusetts ballot question in 2026.

All summaries below come from the Secretary of the Commonwealth’s 2026 ballot questions page, which reproduces the text as it appears on ballots. Questions 1 through 8 are proposed laws that reached the ballot by initiative petition after the Legislature took no vote on them before May 6, 2026. Question 9 asks voters whether to keep a firearms law the Legislature already passed. The Boston Report takes no position on any question.

Questions 1 and 2: Public records and public defenders

Question 1 would bring most records held by the Legislature and the Office of the Governor under the Massachusetts Public Records Law. It would exempt documents tied to developing public policy, and communications between legislators and constituents when they are reasonably related to a constituent’s request for help with government benefits, services or an agency. A yes vote would apply the public records law to most of those records; a no vote would leave the law unchanged. (Question 1 page)

Question 2 concerns the Committee for Public Counsel Services (CPCS), the state’s public defender agency. It would specify that CPCS employees may bargain collectively with their employer, and would require CPCS, after signing a contract, to ask the governor for the money needed to fund it. A yes vote would let CPCS employees form a union to bargain; a no vote would make no change to the labor rules for those employees. (Question 2 page)

Questions 3 and 4: How primaries and registration work

Question 3 would replace separate party primaries for state offices with a single all-party primary listing every candidate on one ballot; the top two vote-getters would advance to November. Candidates for governor and lieutenant governor would run jointly in that primary, and any group whose statewide candidate won at least 3% of primary ballots would gain political party status. A yes vote adopts the top-two system; a no vote keeps current primary law. (Question 3 page)

Question 4 would allow eligible people to register, or update their registration address, at their polling place on Election Day by showing proof of residency and signing a written oath. Acceptable proof would include a valid photo ID or documents such as a utility bill, bank statement, lease or paycheck. The oath would carry a felony penalty of up to five years in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both, for false information. People without proof could cast a provisional ballot and return with documents within six days after a state election. Already-registered voters could not switch parties on Election Day, and the change would take effect Jan. 1, 2028. A yes vote allows Election Day registration; a no vote leaves registration law as is. (Question 4 page)

Questions 5 and 6: State revenue and a conservation fund

Question 5 would cap state revenue each year at the prior year’s net revenue plus the average growth of Massachusetts wages and salaries over the most recent three years. Collections above the cap would be refunded to taxpayers the following year, and revenue from the surtax on incomes over $1 million would count toward the limit. The changes would take effect July 1, 2027. A yes vote sets the new limit and rebate; a no vote leaves current revenue law in place. (Question 5 page)

Question 6 would create a Nature for All Fund that, subject to legislative appropriation, would receive 50% of state sales and use taxes on sporting goods, recreational vehicles and golf courses in its first year and 100% after July 1, 2028, excluding shares already sent to the MBTA and school building funds. The Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs could spend the money on land and water protection, parks, trails and similar conservation work, guided by a 15-member board. A yes vote creates the fund; a no vote does not. (Question 6 page)

Questions 7 and 8: Housing lots and marijuana

Question 7 would allow a single-family home to be built in any residentially zoned area on a lot of at least 5,000 square feet with at least 50 feet of street frontage and access to public sewer and water. Cities and towns could still reasonably regulate height, setbacks, open space, parking and short-term rentals. A yes vote allows such homes; a no vote changes nothing. (Question 7 page)

Question 8 would repeal the laws that legalize, regulate and tax retail sales of recreational marijuana, while still allowing adults 21 and older to possess and gift up to 1 ounce, including no more than 5 grams of concentrate. Possessing between 1 and 2 ounces would carry a $100 civil penalty. Licensed recreational businesses could apply on an expedited basis to become medical dispensaries, and the Cannabis Control Commission would regulate only the medical market. It would take effect Jan. 1, 2028. A yes vote ends legal retail recreational sales; a no vote keeps current marijuana law. (Question 8 page)

Question 9: Referendum on the 2024 firearms law

Question 9 is a referendum on a firearms law the House approved 124-33 and the Senate approved 35-5 on July 18, 2024. Among other provisions, the law regulates untraceable “ghost guns,” requires serial numbers on firearms and unfinished frames, sets 21 as the minimum age to own semiautomatic rifles or shotguns, adds bump stocks and similar devices to the definition of machine gun, and bars carrying firearms in government buildings, polling places and schools, with exceptions. A yes vote keeps the law; a no vote repeals it. (Question 9 page)

Where to read the official arguments

The state’s 2026 Information for Voters booklet, mailed to every Massachusetts household in mid-September, prints the full text of each question along with arguments submitted by supporters and opponents. It is available online, in an accessible version in five languages, as audio and in American Sign Language. Large-print or Braille copies can be requested from the Elections Division at 617-727-2828. Some communities will also have local questions or nonbinding district questions listed after Question 9. For voting times and locations, see the Boston voter guide for Nov. 3.

Massachusetts Ballot Questions 2026: What a Yes or No Vote Does on All Nine

Questions 1 and 2: Public records and public defenders

Questions 3 and 4: How primaries and registration work

Questions 5 and 6: State revenue and a conservation fund

Questions 7 and 8: Housing lots and marijuana

Question 9: Referendum on the 2024 firearms law

Where to read the official arguments

More Massachusetts election coverage

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Questions 1 and 2: Public records and public defenders

Questions 3 and 4: How primaries and registration work

Questions 5 and 6: State revenue and a conservation fund

Questions 7 and 8: Housing lots and marijuana

Question 9: Referendum on the 2024 firearms law

Where to read the official arguments

More Massachusetts election coverage

Sources

Additional sources

Read next in Politics

Most read this week

Latest

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